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About Carol McCracken – “I’m Just a Blogger!”

Five years ago on June 27 I started this blog. I believed there was a serious lack of local news coverage for Munjoy Hill from the local press. This is a very dynamic, up and coming, community on the eastern end of Portland and it deserves more attention from the local media. Having been recently retired and looking for something to keep me busy, I decided to start an on-line news service. That’s how and why this blog came into being. My main goal was to recognize people on the Hill for their interesting lifestyles, start-up businesses in the area and other subjects of interest to people on the Hill. From a very small vision, mhn.com has grown much larger than I ever anticipated it would. A large part of this increase in size, is due to my affiliation the fall of 2012 with the “Bangor Daily News” on their website. I’m very proud and flattered by that affiliation. While local coverage of the Hill has improved, there is still plenty to report on and I plan on doing that for a long time to come.

The iconic, poliltician Tip O’Neil once said: “All politics is local.” I’ve come to believe that applies to news as well. Judging by the interest in this blog, I’m a believer that “all news is local” as well.

It’s important for me to point out that I am a blogger. I am not a professional journalist nor am I a reporter nor do I consider myself a writer. I am simply a blogger. Sometimes bloggers show their bias, intentionally or not. That’s why I don’t get paid the big bucks! I am someone who is trying to fill in some of the news gaps that I believe have existed in the area for years and still do. I have no pretense about being a reporter and should not be compared to reporters or journalists!

I have a BA in psychology from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. I retired to Portland from Alexandria, Va. where I lived for a number of years. I worked in Washington, D.C. for both the government and the private sector. It was a fascinating experience for which I am grateful to have had the opportunity to enjoy. But when I reached retirement age, I knew just where I wanted to be – Maine!

White Plains, NY is home for me. But, I consider myself so fortunate to have spent my summer vacations from school at my grandparents summer cottage near Augusta – Coopers Mills on Clary Lake. They were carefree days of swimming and boating in Clary Lake and blueberrying in the adjoining fields. Both my aunt, Nancy P. Brown and my grandmother, Ella Harding Peffer, were born here in Portland. So, while I’ll always be “from away,” I do have deep roots here that I cherish. I feel so fortunate to be back here in Maine, again!

Testimonial

“Because I love my neighborhood, Munjoy Hill, and the city it sits at the end of, and because my work takes me out of town for much of a year, I find that the Munjoy Hill News keeps me connected to the notion of home. Going to the site and simply viewing photos of Portland and the HIll, not to mention the news writing, is enough to mitigate the discomfort of being away. I check in every few days.”

Chris Akerlind
Tony Award Winner of the 2005 Best Lighting Design in a Musical for
The Light in the Piazza

Don’t Miss A Thing

About the Author

In the past Carol was disappointed with the lack of news coverage of this very dynamic community on the eastern end of Portland. That's how and why this blog came into being. The main goal was to recognize people on the Hill leading unique lives, start-up businesses in the area, and other subjects of interest to people on the Hill. While local coverage of the Hill has improved, there is still plenty to report on and Carol plans on doing that for a long time to come.